On Monday, a Chinese man was boarding a flight from Guangzhou to Beijing when airline authorities spied something suspicious sticking out a KFC burger he had reportedly packed in his bag.

The Guangzhou Daily reports that local airport authorities handling security were surprised when they found something a little different about the burger – odd “protrusions” seemed to be showing up on the X-ray machine.

The man, by all accounts known solely as Mr. Li, was then asked to surrender the mystery burger for inspection. Although he insisted that there was nothing to see, authorities persisted. According to the SouthChina Morning Post:

Li finally acquiesced to an inspection after repeated requests from airport staff, who uncovered the pet turtle hidden inside the burger. When asked why he had devised this strange idea, Li said that he had only wanted to travel together with his “beloved” turtle.

After airport staff explained to Li why he had to abandon his turtle, he reluctantly relinquished the reptile to a trusted friend. It is unclear why Li didn’t seek alternative transportation methods or arrangements for his pet.

Guangzhou is a province in southern mainland China that often serves flights from the border to various parts of inland China. In the U.S., service animals—such as guide dogs, pigs, and miniature support ponies—are often allowed onboard with proper medical documentation.

Erica Ho was previously a reporter for TIME in Hong Kong where she wrote about technology, pop culture and Asian international affairs. Before that, she worked at Gizmodo, Lifehacker and AOL. She now currently runs Map Happy, a travel-oriented site.